Nepal Maoist chief bound for Malaysia junket

KATHMANDU - The chief of Nepal’s largest party is heading for Malaysia Friday on a junket even as the country remains in the grip of a dire political and financial crisis with nine rounds of elections failing to provide the nation a new prime minister.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, chief of the Maoist party and a former contender in the prime ministerial race, is departing for Kuala Lumpur Friday night to take part in a conference on development hosted by an organisation called the Asia Public Exchange and Cooperation Foundation.

Accompanying the former revolutionary are his wife Sita Dahal, son Prakash, and Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the controversial Maoist foreign affairs in-charge.

Mahara was embroiled in a scandal last month after a taped phone conversation indicated he had asked a Chinese “friend” for Nepalese Rupees 500 million to buy votes and ensure Prachanda’s victory in the prime ministerial election.

Since the tape was made public, support for Prachanda dipped and the former prime minister was unable to win a simple majority and lead his party to power again.

Subsequently, Prachanda withdrew from the race and now is lobbying for the election to be cancelled.

After his return from Malaysia, he is scheduled to leave for China to attend the Shanghai Expo 2010 on the invitation of the Chinese government.

The junkets come at a time when Nepal is running out of time. It has just eight months to draft a new constitution. Earlier, the Maoists had asked their leaders not to go on further junkets.

A recent survey of MPs showed Prachanda as having the lowest attendance in parliament proceedings. He has attended only two parliamentary meetings.